The U.S. Department of Labor announced that new unemployment claims fell to 900,000 for the week ending January 16, a slight decrease from 926,000 in the previous week. This figure is just below economists' expectations of 910,000 claims.
Although unemployment claims have decreased from the peak of 6.867 million recorded in March, they remain above the peak of 665,000 seen during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The U.S. economy has regained 12.4 million jobs out of the 22.2 million lost in March and April since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Economists have stated that the U.S. economy may need years to recover from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
